The object of the invention is an automatic feet washing and massaging machine, which comprises a basin for at least one foot, means for filling the said basin with water and for discharging the water from the basin, and one or more brushes acting upon the foot placed in the basin.
Machines of this type are known, in which one or more rotary brushes are mounted in the basin. The basin holds both the rotary bearings for these brushes and the electric motor for operating same. The result is that problems of water tightness and safety against accidents, as well as difficulties in construction and maintenance, are encountered.
The purpose of the invention is to eliminate these and other drawbacks in the known embodiments by providing a machine as described in the preamble, characterized in that the brush or brushes are mounted on at least one movable brush-carrying arm which is introduced from above into the basin, and which is driven by a driving unit with at least its electric motor placed on a support outside of the basin, at a certain height thereover.
In this way, in the feet washing machine according to the invention, the brush or the brushes and their driving unit are quite independent from the basin and can be also fully separated therefrom. The basin does not require means for supporting the brush or brushes, so that any relevant problems of construction and tightness are eliminated. The electric motor of the unit for driving the brush-carrying arm is located outside of the basin at a certain height thereover, and therefore away from the water, whereby the maximum of safety is ensured.
According to a further advantageous characteristic feature of the invention, the driving unit for the movable brush-carrying arm is so constructed as to impart to the brush-carrying arm a reciprocating movement by which the brush or brushes mounted on the brush-carrying arm are moved forward and backward along the foot put in the basin. Thus, with the machine according to the invention not only a good washing of the whole foot is obtained, but also a beneficial massage action.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, to each one of the feet put in the basin there become associated two brush-carrying arms located at either sides of the respective foot and carrying at least one downwardly turned upper brush, at least one upwardly turned lower brush, and two side brushes turned the one toward the other, the brush-carrying arm driving unit being made in such a manner that the upper brush is moved along the foot plant and around the heel, and the two side brushes are moved along the foot sides as far as or beyond the ankle region.
The brush or brushes mounted on the brush-carrying arm or arms can be stationary or at least in part rotary brushes. Preferably, at least the two side brushes are rotary brushes, and their rotation is derived from the reciprocating movement of the brush-carrying arms, thus avoiding special driving motors.